Wednesday, February 21, 2007

CLEVELAND, Oh. - According to our friends at HoopsHype.com, the Cavaliers are expressing a lot of interest in Marcus Banks (I know, he currently plays for the Suns, but due to limited playing time in Phoenix there aren't a lot of photos available of him in a Suns uni, hence the picture above from his former team, the Boston Celtics). The Suns are apparently looking to shed his $20 million in salary over the next four years, without getting much in return. For the Cavs, I see nothing better than picking up a 2-guard in a point guard's body, who can't play defense or shoot for a high percentage...who also has never played big minutes for a winning franchise. Please keep in mind that over at HoopsHype.com, they have rumored just about every player in the NBA to be traded in one way or another, and typically none of these rumors ever actually happen, so more than likely nothing will come out of this (And in all reality, do we really want this guy?).

To LeBron James, who coasted through the Skills Challenge on All-Star Saturday and played the All-Star Game with the uplifting, charismatic intensity of a female porn star trying to break one of those "most male partners in one afternoon" records. Could we end up putting him in the "Too Much, Too Soon" Pantheon some day? Will he become the basketball version of Eddie Murphy, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson and every other celeb who became famous too quickly and eventually burned out?

LeBron JamesMark J. TerrillBefore he before becomes a global icon, maybe LeBron should work a little harder on his game.

Here's what I know. I had four conversations with connected NBA people over the weekend that centered around the same themes: LeBron isn't playing nearly as hard as he did last season; it looks like his only goal right now is to get his coach fired; he's regressing as a basketball player (especially his passing skills and his shot selection); he made a huge mistake firing his agent and turning his career over to his buddies back home (all of whom are in over their heads); he was a much bigger problem during the Olympics than anyone realized; he doesn't seem to be enjoying himself anymore; he has an overrated sense of his own worth and his own impact in the sports world (as witnessed by the ESPN interview last week when he answered the "What are your goals?" question with two words: "Global icon"); he's been protected by magazine fluff pieces and buddy-buddy TV interviews for far too long; he doesn't have the same relentless drive to keep dominating everyone like Wade and Kobe have; and basically, we're much closer to LeBron re-enacting the career arc of Martina Hingis, Eric Lindros and Junior Griffey than anyone realizes. This will evolve into THE dominant NBA story of the next two months. You watch.

The Most Insanely Idiotic Message Board Thread of the Week

"This may be outlandish but... as far as talent goes at the corner position we will be a little weak with the early departure of D.W. We don't have any great talents at corner. Small was a 5* CB as a recruit. What do you all think?"